It is well known for persons to exercise and develop body muscles by performing exercises involving the use of various weights which are raised and lowered in specified movements to develop particular muscles of the body.
One type of exercise is the bench press in which the weight lifter lies supine on a horizontal press bench with feet placed on the floor and raises and lowers a set of weights attached to the ends of a bar which he grasps in his hands. Usually the bar and weights, comprising a barbell, are initially held by a weight support structure above the body of the weight lifter. In performing the exercise the weight lifter lifts the bar and weights out of the weight support structure, slowly lowers the bar to touch his or her chest, then raises the weights until his or her arms are fully extended. The barbell is then raised and lowered successively for a series of repetitions.
Another exercise is known as the "bent over one arm dumbbell pull". In this exercise the weight lifter positions himself parallel to the bench, then lies in a prone position with one side of his or her body and one leg lying on a flat bench, the other leg extending over the edge of the bench with its foot on the floor. He or she then picks up a weight, usually in the form of a dumbbell, raises it straight up to his or her chest and then lowers it to the floor. This exercise is usually also repeated.
Another exercise is known as the "dumbbell fly" exercise in which the weight lifter lies flat on his or her back on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. The dumbbells are raised from the floor in an upward arcuate motion until they touch at a point above the center of the weight lifter's body and are then lowered to the floor again.
These and other weight lifting exercises are repeated to exercise and develop various arm and chest muscles. Certain exercises are performed on an incline bench which has one end higher than the other.
In the past the pads on benches used for weight lifting were relatively narrow, usually less than a foot and about three and a half to four and a half feet in length. They usually consisted of a rectangular board or other slab with some type of resilient foam material for padding to help protect the body of the weight lifter and a cover, such as a vinyl sheeting, to protect the foam. The bench pad is supported above the floor on a framework that is supported on legs to the appropriate height. Press benches and incline benches include a weight support structure, flat benches do not include a weight support structure.
Several problems occur during performance of weight lifting exercises such as those described above because of the heavy weights involved and the forces imposed on the body.
First, there is a tendency for the body to shift and slide on the bench causing undesirable strains on various parts of the body and causing the weight lifter to lose balance and control of the barbell and detracting from his or her performance of the exercise or maneuver in the prescribed and most desirable form.
Second, there is contact between parts of the bench and parts of the body which can interfere with proper execution of the exercise. For example, on a typical bench pad of rectangular configuration, the bench pad interferes with the arms and shoulders as the barbell is being raised from and lowered to the weight lifter's chest, preventing full expansion of the pectoral muscles, interfering with execution of proper form and even causing "bench burns" or bruises on the shoulder blade area from contact with the edges of the bench pad.
Third, there is a likelihood of the dumbbell striking the bench pad during execution of bent over one arm dumbbell pulls interfering with form of execution and destroying the rhythm and balance of the weight lifter.
Prior attempts have been made to correct some of these problems but they have generally been directed to support in a longitudinal direction and have left open the problems associated with lateral instability and shoulder blade interference. Prior bench pads are still constructed in a generally rectangular configuration, particularly in the critical shoulder and cervical areas.
This invention addresses the problems discussed above. It discloses a bench pad which provides lateral support and clearance without diminishing vertical support and protection of the weight lifter's head and back. An optional feature also addresses the problem of an undesirable degree of arching of the back during bench press exercises.